THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Cal Lutheran senior Aaron Van Klaveren scored the final point during Saturday night's 60-54 home win over Occidental. He became the 25th player in program history to score 1,000 points for his collegiate career, all while securing the Kingsmen their second straight conference victory.

Box Score: CLU 60, OXY 54 - F

Van Klaveren not only scored 22 points to lead all players, but also was dominant on the glass grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds. He collected his 10th double-double of the season, 20 th over the past two years and 29th of his career. The senior was responsible for seven of the 11 Kingsmen offensive rebounds, which CLU used to score eight points.

The senior captain was careful to point out that Saturday's victory was a complete team effort. While the night was more focused on his scoring milestone, fellow seniors Xavier Walton and John Wilson played key roles in the win.

Walton matched his career-high with seven assists, to go along with 10 points and two steals. Wilson played 28 minutes and was a major factor in holding Occidental's regular season leading scorer Deshun McCoy to just two points.

Mike Harris knocked down a couple of 3-pointers and junior Jayvaughn Nettles went 3-for-5 from behind the arc in the second half. Sophomore Steven Davis came off the bench and knocked down a pair of game-clinching free throws in the final minute of regulation.

It was a total team effort, and celebration following Saturday night's contest. Not only for the team's second straight victory, but also for the Van Klaveren's scoring milestone.



Cal Lutheran opened up a 7-0 lead early before the Tigers clawed their way back into the game. The first lead change did not take place until there were 40 seconds left in the first half. Jack Hanley converted a layup in the paint to give OXY a momentary 22-21 lead before Walton sank a jumper on the ensuing Kingsmen possession four seconds before intermission.

OXY took the ball out to begin the second period of play and Jake Copithorne quickly put the Black and Orange on top with a jumper. After a John Wilson layup for CLU broke a 26-26 tie the Kingsmen would never look back as they never relinquished that lead. Van Klaveren gave CLU its biggest lead of the night at the 10:17 mark when his bucket put the home squad up 44-34.

With just under three minutes in regulation Nettles knocked down a clutch three-pointer and Walton followed with a basket to give CLU a nine-point cushion.

OXY did not back down, scoring eight of the next nine points to get within three. Steven Davis stepped up to the line for CLU and put in a pair of free throws with 25 ticks left. Van Klaveren then locked in the victory with his free throw as the clock showed 16 seconds to play.

Both teams shot well in the second half with the advantage going to the Tigers at 53.8 percent to finish the night shooting 51.1 percent. CLU connected for 48.1 percent of their shots from the floor in the second half, finishing at a 41.8 percent clip. Occidental scored 30 points in the paint and Cal Lutheran netted 28 from the paint.

Three other CLU players joined Van Klaveren in double figures tonight with Nettles pouring in 11 and Walton and Mike Harris scoring 10 apiece. Walton handed out a game high seven assists.

The Kingsmen pulled down 33 rebounds while the Tigers came away with 31, but CLU managed to get their hands on 11 offensive boards while OXY nabbed just four. Nettles, Walton, Van Klaveren and John Wilson each recorded two steals in the game as well.

Occidental (7-9, 2-3 SCIAC) was led by a 15 point night from senior Jack Hanley with both Conrad Lebowitz and Kris Montoya tallying 12. Liebowitz also finished with seven rebounds and Jake Copithorne grabbed six. Ty Cobb dished out five of the 12 OXY assists.

Cal Lutheran (6-9, 2-3 SCIAC) will be on the road Wednesday evening, Jan. 25, to face the University of Redlands (8-8, 3-2 SCIAC) for a tip-off at 7:30 p.m.